Whoa! An Acquaintance!

There are two methods, two paths.

Just a small Zhou Quan.

Zhang Fusheng looked at his Master, who was plump and round, his face full of compassion like a Buddha, and could never have imagined that such words would come from his mouth.

'Ten thousand people, slaughtered, leaving no one, old or young, women or children, all relatives and connections implicated.'

Chaimen has over ten thousand members, and if you count those related by blood or marriage.

Gulp

Zhang Fusheng swallowed, and looked at his Master again, only to see compassion on his face.

After a long pause.

Hong Tianbao said gently:

"These two methods each have their pros and cons. You should weigh and choose them yourself, but since this is your first lesson after joining, I will choose for you. Is that alright?"

Zhang Fusheng snapped back to reality, his lips trembling, and suddenly realized.

White Bone Meditation, the Buddhist sect had a similar method in his past life, using white bones to break the ego, appearing evil but not truly so.

But what he was learning here was Dense White Bone Contemplation, which was similar yet different from the Buddhist White Bone Meditation, going against the Dao.

This was not a good method.

How could someone practicing this method be a person of great compassion?

"Which path have you chosen for me?" he asked.

Hong Tianbao said calmly:

"Fight without Breaking."

Zhang Fusheng unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

"And then, Kill without Leaving," the old man continued.

He lowered his eyebrows, appearing compassionate:

"Hong Ji is not just Hong Ji in District Three; we also have dealings in the Lower-Level Districts."

Zhang Fusheng's lips trembled, and he listened intently.

Hong Tianbao said gently:

"If you join my sect, I will provide you with resources, but not for free. My Hong Ji Martial Arts Hall has over two hundred students, and the tuition fee for each term is over twenty million."

"Your three senior brothers and sisters are all teaching for me, each receiving a ten percent share – after you join, you will do the same."

"So, for each three-month term, you can receive two million."

Zhang Fusheng listened quietly and couldn't help but ask:

"Over two hundred students? But usually, I see in the Martial Arts Hall..."

Hong Tianbao waved his hand:

"About thirty people come to class every day, sixty to seventy come occasionally, and the remaining hundred or so are rich merchants and ordinary dignitaries from the Mid-Level and Upper-Level Districts."

"They pay tuition, and their names are listed in the Martial Arts Hall. If they get into a dispute with someone, they can claim to be my student, Hong Tianbao."

Zhang Fusheng understood.

The old School Master gazed at him:

"An income of over two million per term, which is seven to eight hundred thousand per month. It's not a small amount, but can you cultivate with it? No, it's far from enough."

"Poor scholars, rich talents in martial arts!"

Listening to his Master's words, Zhang Fusheng nodded:

"So, the Martial Arts Hall also has businesses in the Lower-Level Districts?"

"Mm."

Hong Tianbao smiled:

"We have some businesses. Your three senior brothers and sisters each manage one. They get seventy percent of the income and pay thirty percent."

"As for the amount, it's not too much. In lean years, it's estimated to be around thirty to fifty million a month. For your senior brother and second senior sister, it's just barely enough to support their cultivation."

Zhang Fusheng was dumbfounded.

Thirty to fifty million a month?

And that's in lean years??

And it's barely enough to support cultivation???

He couldn't help but ask:

"Thirty to fifty million, that's over ten million each. And that's still barely enough?"

Hong Tianbao looked at him strangely:

"It's thirty to fifty million each. Your third senior sister, Lin Dongxi, manages a smaller business with less money, but she only joined six months ago and is only at Second Refinement. For her, it's naturally enough."

Zhang Fusheng swallowed.

"Then, what about Senior Brother and Senior Sister?"

"Your Senior Brother Niu Dali is at the peak of the Twelve Refinements, only needing to master the meditation technique to become a Martial Arts Master. Your Senior Sister Chen Yuque has just entered the Twelve Refinements."

Twelve Refinements!

They were all Twelve Refinements!

But Zhang Fusheng still found it hard to imagine:

"The resource consumption for Twelve Refinements Martial Artists is this exaggerated?"

Hong Tianbao shook his head.

"Normally, it wouldn't be. But this is Jiangzhou City, which isn't prosperous. Resources that cost a hundred million in a large city would cost several times, or even ten times, as much here."

"And some resources from Mega Core Cities can't be bought with money in Jiangzhou City."

Zhang Fusheng fell silent.

Jiangzhou City itself was divided into different levels. The Upper-Level District and Lower-Level District were worlds apart, and the Federation as a whole was naturally divided into levels.

Small cities, medium cities, large cities.

And Mega Core Cities.

To travel between them, one needed a special 'pass'. For people from small cities like Jiangzhou City, obtaining a pass to a large city was much harder than moving from the Lower-Level District to the Upper-Level District.

Zhang Fusheng never understood why. The Federation wasn't just the Federation of Earth.

Although there wasn't much news about outer space, it could be inferred that the Federation's 'territory' was 'as far as the eye can see'.

Everything visible in the night sky belonged to the Federation.

And Earth was the Federation's home planet.

In such a situation, why was there still such a stratification, limiting the movement of people from different classes?

He rarely thought about it before, but now, after careful consideration, he felt a chill. The 'Central Federation' where 'everything in sight was territory,'

why couldn't it even eradicate all the cultists on its home planet?

He didn't understand.

As his thoughts swirled, he heard his Master speak softly.

"Your three Senior Brothers and Sisters each have a share, and you should have one too."

"Chaimen would be a good choice. Although after clearing it out, Chaimen's territory and 'business scope' will shrink significantly, it will still be enough for you to cultivate."

Zhang Fusheng snapped back to reality.

"So, you've chosen 'Kill without Leaving' for me."

"Indeed."

Hong Tianbao nodded slightly.

"My Master and that old man Chaimen already had conflicts. Now is a good time to settle them all at once. Of course, this process won't be short, but you don't need that many resources right now."

He pondered for a moment.

"Your Senior Brother cannot share resources with you at this critical juncture. As for your Third Senior Sister, the business she manages now isn't large, and she doesn't earn much herself."

"Understood."

Hong Tianbao made the decision.

"Before we take over Chaimen, you'll work under Second Sister for a while. Her income remains unchanged. Of the 30% she hands over, I'll allocate 10% to you. How about that?"

Zhang Fusheng nodded vigorously.

The 'business' from Second Sister's side brought in tens of millions monthly. Taking 10% would be several million!

This was a number he hadn't even dared to imagine.

Star Beast Meat seemed like it would become freely available.

"Master, what is Second Sister's business?" Zhang Fusheng asked cautiously.

"Loan sharking," Chen Yuque said as she pushed the door open, smiling. "Junior Sister is asleep, and I was worried. There are too many debts to collect recently. With Junior Brother helping me, it will be much easier."

Huh?

Loan sharking?

Zhang Fusheng blinked. In a place like the Lower-Level District, what kind of loans could they make? In bad years, they could earn tens of millions every month.

He finally understood. Hong Ji Martial Arts Hall, although located in the Upper-Level District, was likely the underground 'colossus' of the Lower-Level District.

What kind of interest rates did they charge?

"Alright," Hong Tianbao nodded slightly. "I'm going to rest. We'll discuss other matters after the tea ceremony and learning the cultivation method tomorrow morning. I also need to think carefully about the Chaimen matter."

"Oh?"

Chen Yuque asked curiously:

"Are we going to make a move on Chaimen?"

She had only just arrived and didn't know about the conversation that had just taken place.

"Your junior brother is short on resources." Hong Tianbao smiled and walked out the door, saying before he left, "You give him two or three small tasks first so your junior brother can get familiar with things."

"Yes, Master."

After watching the old man leave, Chen Yuque plopped down opposite Zhang Fusheng and yawned:

"Hmm, I'm not as long-winded as Master. How about this, I'll send you a list. It's people who need to be collected from recently. You pick one yourself. What's your signal number?"

Zhang Fusheng quickly added his second senior sister as a friend, and soon, a document was sent over.

"I'm going to rest too, little freak. See you tomorrow."

Chen Yuque tossed her red hair and swaggered away, leaving Zhang Fusheng alone in the quiet room.

He let out a breath, still feeling a bit dreamlike.

Hong Ji's influence in the Lower-Level District was at least on par with Chaimen.

Chaimen, was Hong Ji, one of the 'Five Giants' of the Lower-Level District?

Which one was it?

He couldn't help but give a wry smile. How was he going to explain this to his parents?

He came to learn martial arts and ended up becoming an underground boss?

Headache.

Shaking his head, Zhang Fusheng opened the document on his phone, and a long string of names appeared before his eyes.

He scanned it roughly, and the 'amount owed' after each name made his heart pound. Huh?

Zhang Fusheng's expression sharpened. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

He wasn't mistaken.

He stared at two familiar names.

One was Zhu Dashan, Zhu Xiaoming's father.

And another name was 'Chen Nuanyu'.

"Whoa!"